Chair construction



April 14, 1959 E. HERRMANN CHAIR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 11, 1956 INVENTOR Y Ernes/ Herrmann WMXZ ATTORNEY United States Patent CHAIR CONSTRUCTION I Ernest Herrmann, South Norwalk, Conn.

Application September 11, 1956, Serial No. 609,157

10 Claims. (Cl. 155-191) -This invention relates to chairs in general and more particularly to a new chair construction.

- A chair which can be constructed cheaply and which is light in weight and easily transportable is very useful as a lawn, porch, beach chair or the like. A chair of this type can be easily moved and stored when it is desired or left stationary for a long period of time. However, a chair of this general type must be constructed ,economically so that it can be marketed cheaply. Also it is often quite desirable that such a chair be capable of being arranged in more than one position so that under certain circumstances, it is maintained in a sitting position, while under other circumstances it is in a reclining position and under still further circumstances it is in a position intermediate the sitting and reclining positions. The invention herein disclosed has, as its principal object, the provision of a new chair construction which has the sections thereof molded or formed from sheet stock and assembled to form the chair.

Another object of this invention is to provide a chair of such construction that its form can be altered to permit 'a person utilizing it to assume a sitting, reclining, or

intermediate position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chair that is constructed of sections which can be molded of plastic, aluminum, or other material or formed from sheet stock and which does not require fastening devices to join the sections.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a chair which is of such construction that the weight of a person disposed thereon tends to stabilize the various portions of the chair.

Another object of this invention is to provide a chair that can be constructed cheaply and which is light in weight and easily transportable.

A chair construction embodying this invention and the manner of using the same is described herein with reference to the drawings in which:

1 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention showing the chair assembled for sitting position;

Fig. 2 is a partially sectional view taken on the drawing shown in Fig. 1 along the line 2-2 in the direction of the arrows showing in detail a combination of the upstanding back section and the approximately horizontal seat section of the chair assembled for sitting position;

. :Fig. 3 is a partially sectional side view of a chair as shown in Fig. 1 showing in detail the manner in which the back section and seat section are interconnected.

Fig. 4 is a partially sectional side view of a chair constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention showing the chair assembled for reclining position;

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of an alternate form of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a partially sectional side view of the alternate .form of the invention showing in detail the manner in which the various sections are interconnected.

In the drawings an embodiment of my invention is shown in Fig. 1 wherein back section 10 which has been molded from a suitable material has a straight portion 11 which forms the supporting surface for the back of a person using the chair. Back section 10 has projecting edges 12 and 13 which extend from portion 11 forming a comfortable supporting surface.

Leg 14 which is shown in Fig. 1 and leg 15 which is not shown are formed at one end of back section 10. Legs 14 and 15 are joined with portion 11 and form an angle with portion 11 of slightly less than Underlying edges 14' and 15' of legs 14 and 15 respectively lie adjacent an underlying surface, thussupporting back portion 11 at an angle with the underlying surface of slightly less than 90. The legs maintain back section 10 in this position and also stabilize the back section when a person utilizes back portion 11 as a supporting surface.

Rectangular openings 16 and 17 are formed in back 11 in spaced relationship to one another and in spaced relationship to edge 11' of back 11 whereat legs 14 and 15 are formed. It is noted that openings 16 and 17 are formed on a line parallel with the underlying surface.

Rectangular openings 18 and 19 are also formed in back 11 in spaced relationship to one another and at a distance spaced from the edge 11'. Openings 18 and 19 are at the same distance from each other that opening 16 is from opening 17. It is noted that openings 18 and 19 are also formed on a line horizontal with the underlying surface but closer to edge 11' than are openings 16 and 17.

In the drawings openings 16, 17, 18 and 19 are shown as rectangular slots. However, it is not necessary for the practice of my invention that these particular openings be rectangular since they may be of any suitable configuration.

The seat section is designated generally in the drawings by the numeral 20. The seat section consists of portion 21 and portion 22 which are adjacent one another and which form a slight angle with one another in order that this section of the chair be comfortable to the user. The angle between portion 21 and portion 22 is designated as A in Fig. 2 and is slightly less than Legs 23 and 24 which are formed at edge 22" of seat section 20 serve to support edge 22' above an underlying surface.

Tongues 25 and 26 extend from the end of seat section 20 which is removed from legs 23 and 24 and which is designated as 21' in the figures. Tongues 25 and 26 are formed on seat portion 21 in spaced relation to one another, the distance between the two being equal to the distance between rectangular slots 16 and 17. Tongues 25 and 26 are each of such dimensions that they may easily be inserted in one of the rectangular slots formed in back portion 11.

Thus as shown in Fig. 1 tongue 25 is inserted in slot 16 while tongue 26 is inserted in slot 17. The manner in which the tongues are inserted into the slots is shown in detail in Fig. 3. Therein it is seen that tongue 26 which is shown in the process of being inserted into slot 17 forms an angle with seat portion 21 which is slightly more than 90.

When assembled, as seen in Fig. 2, tongues 25 and 26 are maintained in position by sockets 28 which are formed on the rear of back portion 11 above slots 16 and 17 respectively and which sockets constitute an auxiliary locking means. Sockets 28 prevent back section 10 from tipping forward when the seat section and the back section are assembled for sitting position and there is no person seated thereon. As can be seen in Fig. 2, if back section 10 attempted to tip forward it would be prevented from doing so by sockets 28.

It should also be noted that tongues 25 and 26 are provided with projections 26a w-hieh extend downwardly from the apex of the angles formed by tongues 25 and 26 respectively and seat portion '21. Projections 26a act as hooks and engage the edge of the slots in the back section when back section and seat section are assembled in sitting position. This is to prevent tongues and 26 from slipping throughslots 16 and 17 and prevents the seat from dropping. It is noted that seat section 20 has formed along its edges arms 29 and which are provided to give added comfort to a person seated thereon.

Although projections 26a are required, sockets 28 are optional depending upon the material used. Thus, for a strong stiff material sockets 28 would be unnecessary.

When the chair is arranged "as shown in Fig. 2, seat portion 21 and seat portion 22 are maintained above the underlying surface. Thus a person seated upon the chair is maintained in position and the weight of his body on seat portion 21 and against back section 11 aids to maintain back section 10 and seat section 20 in interlocking position.

The chair is shown in Fig. 4 assembled for reclining position. Here it will be noted that tongues 25 and 26 have been inserted 'in slots Hand 19 in back section 10 rather than slots 16 and 17. As shown in Fig. 4 the upper edge of tongues 25 and 26 serve to support back portion 11 while projections 25a and 26a which lie adjacent the back section also support back portion 11.

Also surfaces 14"and 15" of legs 14 and 15 are maintained atran angle with the underlying surface when the chair is assembled for reclining position. In this position, seat portion 21 and back portion 11 form an angle with one another substantially greater than the angle formed when the chair is assembled for seating position. Thus, it is seen that in Fig. 4 a person utilizing the chair will be maintained in a reclining position.

It should be understood that although only two positions of the chair are shown, that of Fig. 2 and that of Fig. 4, a variety of other positions may be achieved by placing additional slots or differently positioned slots in back section 10.

Also it should be understood that my invention contemplates the utilization of slots or tongues in either the seat section or the back section or both and also a chair construction in which the rear legs instead of being integral with the back portion can be integral with the seat section.

A second embodiment of my invention is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this embodiment the back section is exactly the same configuration as back section 10 in Fig. l. Thereforeythe number designations of the back section in Figs. 5 and 6 will be the same number designation as the back section in Fig. 1. In this embodiment, however, the seat section is different and I have designated it as numher 31.

Here it is seen that although tongues ,25' and 26 are formed precisely as were tongues 25 and 26 in Fig. 1, legs 32 and 33 which maintain seat section 31 above an underlying surface are separated by surface 34 which has slots .35 and 36 formed therein, in spaced relation to one another.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, it will be noted that seat section .31 is somewhat shorter than was the seat section in the embodiment shown in Fig. l and foot section 37 is provided with tongues 38 and 39 formed therein which interlock with seat section 31 by means of slots and 36 receiving tongues 38 and 39 respectively.

Thus,, it is seen. that the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 consists of three sections rather than .two as shown in Fig. lthereby illustrating another of the many variations in chairs which can be constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention.

Also, such an interlocking or interconnecting feature as I have revealed can be utilized in chairs having a single position. Thus a chair may be formed having merely one set of slots which would upon insertion of the tongues 4 of one section in the slots of the other section form the chair.

Therefore, it is seen that there are infinite numbers of possible arrangements and embodiments which my invention may have.

It should be noted that in the various embodiments of my invention there is a portion of the legs in contact with the underlying surface at a point rearwardly and forwardly of the center of gravity of the weight of a person distributed thereon, no matter what position the chair is in. Whether the chair be in reclining position, sitting position or an intermediate position, for purposes of balance the center of gravity of a person thereon lies. between the front legs and a portion of the rear legs.

Thus, in the first embodiment shown herein, the center of gravity of a person thereon would lie between legs 23 and 24, and legs 14 and 15. In the sitting position of the chair as shown in Fig. 4, the center of gravity of a person thereon would lie between legs 23 and 24 and-the portion of legs 14 and 15 which are in contact with the underlying surface. This is also seen in the secondembodiment of my invention, which is shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically aforementioned are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A chair comprising a back section formed of sheet stock and defining at least one slot therein and a seat section formed of sheet stock and separable from said back section, a tongue projecting rearwardly from the trailing edge of said seat section, said tongue being forked to provide an upwardly extending projection and a downwardly extending projection, said slot being laterally dimensioned to receive said tongue and being vertically dimensioned to permit one of said projections to pass therethrough after the other of said projections has been passed through said slot, said upwardly extendingprojection providing a resting surface for said back section above said slot, said tongue transmitting the load applied to said seat section to the lower edge of said slot and said downwardly extending projections forming a stop preventing separation of said seat section from said back section while a downwardly directed force is applied to said seat section.

2. A chair as recited in claim 1 in which said backsection defines a plurality of slots at dilferent elevations whereby said seat section may be joined to said back section at different positions to vary the inclination of said back section.

3. A chair as recited in claim 1 in which said back section is formed to include rearwardly projecting legs.

4. ,A chair as recited in claim 3 in which said legs extend rearwardly of said back section at an angle of less than 5. A chair as recited in claim 1 in which said seat section is formed to include downwardly projecting legs positioned at the forward end of said seat section.

6. A chair comprising a back section formed of sheet stock and defining laterally spaced slots therein and a seat section formed of sheet stock and separable from said back section, laterally spaced tongues projecting rearwardly from the trailing edge of said seat section, said tongues being forked to provide upwardly extending projections and downwardly extending projections, said slots being laterally dimensioned and said tongues being laterally positioned so that said tongues are received in said slots and said slots being vertically dimensioned to permit one of said projections to pass therethrough after the other of said projections has been passed through said slots, said upwardly extending projections providing a resting surface for said back section above said slot, said tongues transmitting the load applied to saidv seat section to the lower edge of said slot and said down wardly extending projections forming a stop preventing separation of said seat section from said back section while a downwardly directed force is applied to said seat section.

7. A chair as recited in claim 6 in which said upwardly extending projections are longer than the vertical dimension of said slots and said downwardly extending projections are shorter than the vertical dimensions of said slots.

8. A chair as recited in claim 7 in which said back section is formed with auxiliary locking means positioned on the rear thereof overlying said slots, said auxiliary locking means being adapted to receive said upwardly extending projections after assembly of said chair.

9. In a chair construction a back section formed of sheet stock and defining at least one slot therein, a seat section for-med of sheet stock, a tongue projecting from an edge of said seat section, said tongue being forked to provide an upwardly extending projection and a downwardly extending projection, said slot dimensioned laterally to receive said tongue and dimensioned vertically to permit one of said projections to pass therethrough after the other of said projections has been passed through said slot, said upwardly extending projection providing a resting surface for said back section above said slot upon interengagement, said tongue transmitting the load applied to said seat section to the lower edge of said slot and said downwardly extending projection serving as a stop preventing separation of said seat section from said back section when a downwardly directed force is applied to said seat section.

19- A c m i ti n f p i g ers f sh et form comprising an upstanding section formed of sheet stock and defining at least one slot therein and a horizontal section formed of sheet stock and separable from said upstanding section, a tongue projecting rearwardly from the trailing edge of said horizontal section, said tongue being forked to provide an upwardly extending projection and a downwardly extending projection, said slot being laterally dimensioned to receive said tongue and being vertically dimensioned to permit one of said projections to pass therethrough after the other of said projections has been passed through said slot, said upwardly extending projection providing a resting surface for said upstanding section above said slot, said tongue transmitting the load applied to said horizontal section to the lower edge of said slot and said downwardly extending projection forming a stop preventing separation of said horizontal section from said upstanding section while a downwardly directed force is applied to said horizontal section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 202,505 Ask Apr. 16, 1878 1,453,241 Duflield Apr. 24, 1923 2,518,955 Stelzer Aug. 15, 1950 2,603,276 Lorenz et al. July 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 587,322 Germany Nov. 2, 1933 582,740 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1946 1,034,114 France Apr. 8, 1953 

